7 Fascinating Ways Winter Storms Affect Your Dating Life

These days, winter storms seem to be in the headlines a lot. Though your first instinct may be to hole up and not go out unless absolutely necessary — like to work — it may also prove to be the perfect time to date. After all, people still “Netflix and chill,” and you can make “chill” mean whatever you want it to mean — actually watching Netflix with your date, or doing more than that. With Storm Quinn in the news, you may be wondering how winter storms affect your dating life, and that’s a great question.

If you want to date, but not leave your house, dating apps are definitely a good option, and have been a popular one during other past winter storms. For instance, during Winter Storm Jonas in 2016, Tinder matches went up by 10 percent, the app reported, which came out to 25 million matches. Twenty-five million.

Winter Storm Niko, in February 2017, was another high-swiping period. At the time, Tinder Sociologist Dr. Jess Carbino commented on her theory as to why. “Snowstorm Niko may be a great time to use Tinder because most people want to stay indoors, leaving them without too many things to do — you can only Netflix binge for so long,” Dr. Carbino said in a Tinder press release. “During this downtime, singles can foster meaningful conversations and make a connection with Tinder matches.” Of course, Dr. Carbino’s theory can apply to other dating apps, too, and how their popularity increases when people are snowed in and it’s too cold to go out.

On that note, below you’ll find some fascinating statistics regarding ways that winter storms may affect your dating life, so you may want to get ready to swipe.

1Tinder Swipes Have Hit The BILLIONS

Andrew Zaeh for Bustle

Back in 2016 during Winter Storm Jonas, Tinder matches not only went up 10 percent — equal to 25 million matches — but two billion Tinder users swiped. So if dating is a numbers game, apparently those numbers spike when there’s a storm in town.

2It May Be The Most Popular Time To Swipe

Andrew Zaeh for Bustle

According to Tinder, users in New York were swiping the most from January 22-24, 2016. These were key days of Winter Storm Jonas. As for second place among cities where people on Tinder swiped most, it went to Philadelphia.

3More People Seek Out Casual Sex

Andrew Zaeh for Bustle

According to a survey by Trojan Brand Condoms, during a winter storm, more singles seek out casual sex. They surveyed 1,000 sexually active singles aged 18-24 and found that nearly one-third, 31 percent, have sought out casual sex during a winter storm.

4Most People Would Contact A Previous Hookup

Ashley Batz/Bustle

During the same survey above by Trojan Brand Condoms, 70 percent of respondents would contact a previous hookup to get snowed in with. Makes sense, right?

5Hinge Activity Has Spiked Leading Up To Storms

Hannah Burton/Bustle

In case you missed it, Hinge rebranded and became a relationship app in October 2016. However, before that, when Winter Storm Juno was about to hit the East Coast in January 2015, app activity increased and spiked 27 percent — just leading up to the storm. That’s a lot of Hinge users who didn’t want to be left out in the cold... at least not alone.

6Hinge Activity Has Spiked *During* Storms

Andrew Zaeh for Bustle

When Winter Storm Juno actually hit the East Coast on January 26, 2015, Hinge activity went up 47 percent. This proves, once again, that the less popular the weather gets, the more popular dating apps get.

7Hinge Users Have Been More Active During Storms

Hannah Burton/Bustle

Also on the day of Winter Storm Juno, Hinge users logged into the app more than usual — the average user logged in five times per day. Hinge discovered similar user behavior during Winter Storm Stella. Usually on Mondays, dating app usage remains consistent, but Hinge found that during Stella on Monday, March 13, 2017 around 4 p.m., user activity doubled. “We believe extreme weather conditions, especially those that keep young professionals home from work, results in free time to set up dates,” Jean-Marie McGrath, the Director of Communications at Hinge, told Bustle at the time.

As you can see, people love to reconnect with past hookups, as well as use dating apps when a winter storm hits — whether users just want to message with people, meet them, or more. But, bottom line: winter storms can be major for your dating life.